Eastern Illinois University The Keep
Plan B Papers Student Theses & Publications
1-1-1963
The Historical Geography of the Hopi Area
James D. Young
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Recommended Citation Young, James D., "The Historical Geography of the Hopi Area" (1963). Plan B Papers. 269. https://thekeep.eiu.edu/plan_b/269
This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses & Publications at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in Plan B Papers by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Historical Geography
of the Hopi Area (TITLE)
BY
James D. Young
PLAN B PAPER
SUBMITIED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION AND PREPARED IN COURSE Geography 590
IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL, EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, CHARLESTON, ILLINOIS
1963 YEAR
I HEREBY RECOMMEND THIS PLAN B PAPER BE ACCEPTED AS FULFILLING THIS PART OF THE DEGREE, M.S. IN E .
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Table of Contents Page List of maps and illustrations ...... ii Foreword ...... iii Acknowledgement ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• iv Chapter I ...... l IIopiland ...... 2 Hopi History ...... Chapter II ...... 25 2 ,·• ]'arming ...... 0 Herding ...... 37 Hunting ...... 44 Food Gathering ...... 47 Chapter III •••••••••••••••••••••••••••······· 50 Transportation ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 51 Tourism and Vvage work • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 61 Chapter IV • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 69 Conclusion and Prospect ...... 70 , Bi bli ogra:phy • • • • • . • • • • • . • • • . . . • • • • • . • • . • . • . • • 7 5 ii
Title Page
I. Black Mesa in Arizona • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 4 II. Hopi Villages Past and Present •••••••••••••• 14
III. Land Use in the Hopi Area •••••••••••••••••• 36 IV. The Eopi Reservation •••••••••••••••••••••••• 40 v. Hopi-Land Trails ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 54
VI. Routes of 'l'ransportation and Exploration • • • • 60
Illustrations Title Page Bird design ...... 1 Climatic data ...... 6 Hopi Village ...... 7 Hopi and Spaniard ••••.•.•..•••••.••••.•••••.•.••• 9
Population data •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 22, 24 Hopi Farmers ...... 25 Hopi .i:!'arraer at ~iork ...... 29
Hopi Corn field • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 3Q l!,eathar Design ...... 37 Stock reduction statistics ...... 42 Coyote and bird design ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 44 :Hopi native dress • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 47
Hopi J:.i,ord • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 50 Eopi-LanU. 'I'rails • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 54 ii-1
Title Page
Buffalo ~ancers and dnake ~ancers ...... 61 J.Jiagram of Hopi 'J.rade ••• ...... 65 Hopi Income ..;;iource ...... 63 Polic 1Jana ...... 69 iii
Foreword
The purpose of this paper is to make a geographical analysis of the Hopi Indian area in northeast Arizona and to study the changes which have taken place in the characteristics of this area and variations in the tempo of these changes from the time the
Hopi were discovered by the Spanish in 1540 to the present time. iv
Grateful acknowledgement is hereby given to
Dr. Dalias A. Price of the Geography Department of Eastern
Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois, for his assistance and advisement in the preparation of this paper. -1-
Chapter I
Hopiland
Bird desir,n from Hopi food bowl
Source: H. c. James, p. 17. -2-
In the northeast corner of the state of Arizona is the approximate
center of the Navajo Basin subdivision of the Colorado Plateau
Province. This central portion is topographically the highest part of the Navajo Basin.
"This is the Black Mesa, a dissected or dissecting plate of sand- stone 60 miles in diameter with outfacing cliffs on all sides. On the north and east these are almost continuous and 1,200 to 2,000 ft. hirrh. The plateau edge is here s,ooo ft. above sea and forms an important divide. The slope and direction of streams is toward the southwest. On that side the escarpment is not only lower but scalloped by erosion."!
It is on this ragged southern edge of the Black Mesa that the Hopi
Indians make their home. Three long ridges extend out from the Black
Mesa like three giant fingers reaching southwestward into the desert.
These great fingers are broken at the tips forming high flat-topped mesas. On and around these finger tips the Hopi Indians have built their pueblo homes for over a thousand years. The map on the following page shows the location of Black Mesa in relation to present day roads and state boundaries.
This area is comprised of some of the most undesirable land in the
United States from the modern viewpoint. It receives approximately ten
inches of precipitation yearly. The rainfall comes mainly in the summer
and as sudden, torrential downpours. There is only a sli~ht amount of precipitation in the form of snow in the winter months.
1Nevin M. Fenneman, Physiography of Western United States (New York, 1931), p. 314. -3-
Map #1 Black Mesa in Arizona
This map shows the location of Black Mesa in
relatjon to present day cities, roads and
state boundaries.
Scale: l inch= approximately 30 miles
Source: Harry c. James, back cover •
..
-s-
During these summer downpours the dry washes between the mesa fingers are turned into raging torrents of mud and water which can wipe out everything in their paths. The slight amount of precipitation coupled with the annual mean temperature of about
51 F0 gives this area a desert climate, classified B W according to the Koppen classification (see the line graph on page 6
The reader may get an idea of the aridity of this area from viewing the picture of the Hopi village on page 7 , and the Hopi corn field on page 30. -6-
rto
/ Annual mean 80 temperature
0 10 degrees r
/,o
4-0 ---- winter rain
--- summer rain
---- no period 2.o
Annual precipitation, inches
Boundaries between dry and humid climates according to the
KBppen classification.
Source: Glen T. Trewartha, An Introduction to Climate, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1954, page 268. -7- Source: National Archives, Washington, D. c. I -8-
Geologically this area consists mainly of sandstone with lesser
amounts of shale. The beds are not quite horizontal and have been
subject to great erosion in this arid climate. The mesa, cuesta, rock
terrace, retreating escarpment, canyon and dry wash are the distinctive
features of the landscape. This land acts as a subterranean reservoir
for a small but relatively permanent water supply. Water seeps into the
permeable sandstone and comes out as springs in cliffs of the southern escarpments. Near these springs the Hopi Indians have located their
pueblos. There are no permanent streams in the Black Mesa area. Black mesa is drained by the ephemeral streams of the Tusayan Washes. They
have eroded deep valleys in their southward flow to the Little
Colorado River.
The soils of the Black Mesa are sandy desert soils and support
little vegetation. As in other parts of the Southwest, the pinyon and the juniper are almost the only trees on the mesas and slopes below
7,ooo feet. Areas above 7,ooo feet are covered in part with yellow pine.
These areas are of limited extent and on Black Mesa are represented
by the northern and eastern edges. The greater part of the area
supports only sage brush and bunch grass and their associates. Ralph
H. Brown in his Historical Geography of the United States gives the 2 following table for trees in the navajo country.
Zone Trees Altitude Range In Feet r:- Cottonwood (alamo) cactus, yucca 3,500 - 5,000 II.· Sagebrush and greasewood s,ooo - 5,ooo III. Pinon pine and juniper 6,ooo - 1,000 IV. Yellow pine 1,000 - 8,500 v. Engleman Spruce 8,500 - 10,400
The elevation of most of Black Mesa is approximately 6,0oo feet.
2 Ralph H. Brown, Historical Geography of the United States (New York, 1948), p. 49 • -9-
Hopi History
Hopi and Spaniard
This picture, which is adopted from the style of the
Awatobi Murals, symbolizes the Hopi practice of sprinkling sacred corn meal across the path of their enemies. This practice was supposed to protect the Hopi. The Spaniard with his sword and cross paid no mind to the line of corn meal in his crusade to convert the Indians.
Source: Harry c. James, p. 49, -10-
If one could imagine a motion picture made from air photographs
taken from a position above the Hopi area, one picture from the same
position on a summer day each day for the past 400 years, this film would truly give us the historical geography of the Hopi area. 3
One would be able to see the changing character and relationship of the Bopi In~ians and their area. Since such a presentation of the areal variation' as it changes through time is not possible, this paper will attempt to present a word picture of the historical geography of the Hopi area.
"The Hopi constitute a peculiar dialectic division of the Shoshonean branch of the Ute-Aztecan linguistic family, and they are the only Shoshonean people, so far as is known, who ever took on a Pueblo culture, though the Tanoans are suspected of a remote Shoshonean relationship. 11 4
The first authentic documentary history of the Hopi Indians comes to us from the Spanish. Hopi country was known to the Spaniards as
Tusayan. They learned of Tusayan from the Zuni Indians in New Mexico where Coronado's expedition had established their base camp. The Zuni called the Hopi Indians "Moqui" which comes from a Zuni term meaninp; dead.
The Hopi have resented this name for they consider themselves to be very much alive. The Hopi call themselves Hopitu which in their own
3 Richard Hortshorne, Perspective on the Nature of Geography (Chicago, 1959), p. 103.
4 John R. Swnaton, The Indian Tribes of North America, Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 145 (Washing, 1952), p. 352. -ll- language means "peaceful ones11 • 5 Compared to other Indian tribes the Hopi are peaceful, although they have fought bloody battles among themselves.
The already conquered Zuni people told the Spaniards of the province of Tusayan more than a hundred miles to the north which they said consisted of seven cities. This renewed the Spaniard's hope for finding the seven cities of gold which they were seeking.
They have already discovered that the Zuni Pueblos, which they called
Cibola, and thought to be cities made of gold, were just villages made of adobe mud which glistened like gold in· the desert sun.
In July of 1540 Coronado dispatched Don Pedro de Tobar (Tovar) to explore the Tusayan province. Don Pedro de Tobar took with him seventeen horsemen, three or four foot soldiers, a Franciscan friar,
Juan de Padilla and a Zuni Indian guide. 6 De Tobar approached the
Hopi cities from the southeast and three great fingers extending from
Black Mesa, which have since been named, First Mesa, Second Mesa and
5 Swanton, p. 351.
6 Frederick States 1528-1543 -12-
Third Mesa, respectively, as approached from that direction. The first encounter between the Hopi and the Spaniards took place on
Antelope Mesa, which is just southeast of First Mesa. The two
Hopi cities of Owatobi and Kawaiokuh were then situated on this mesa.
The Hopi met the Spaniards at the edge of these two cities with bows, shields and wooden clubs and threatened them if they dared try to enter.
The threat did not work and after a display of strength by the
Spaniards of riding their horses over the Hopi, the Hopi quickly expressed their desire to be friends of the Spanish and brought them gifts. One source reports that the Spaniards destroyed the village of Kawaiokuh before the Hopi surrendered. 7 See map# 2 on the following page for the location of the Hopi villages in 1540.
At this time, 15 40, there were seven Hopi Pueblos: Owatobi
(the easternmost), Sikyatki, Kawaiokuh, Walpi, Mishongnovi, Shungopovi, and Oraibi (the westernmost). 8 Oraibi is the only one which retains its original position today. Owatobi, Sikyatki and Kawaiokuh have been since destroyed or abandoned altogether and Walpi, Mishongnovi and
Shungopovi have since been relocated. Examination of the many ruins in Hopiland have placed the ancestors of the Hopi as living in this area for hundreds of years before the Spanish came. Oraibi on Third Mesa
7 Laura Thompson and Alice Joseph, The Hopi Way (Chicago, 1944), p. 27.
8 Thompson and Joseph, p. 27. -13-
Map #2 Hopi Villages Past and Present
Scale: l inch = approximately 3 miles • _____ .Present Hopi Vi.llap,es
~ Hopi Villages in 1540
~Roads
Source: Harry c. James, The Hopi Indians •
!.,_:;.. L » ~ -toR014g~ P.,oc\:a.. +
£" .s- ~ ..
I ~ r-i I ----- ~·~.._,asgz-. --· .,,..._ ?•\a.cc a. __...... __ __.. __ ,....
Jtqd\to ·~
~"Ga..,tl.do ~ -15-
is now considered the oldest town in the United ~tates in terms of continuous operation. Definite evidence has established that
Oraibi has been constantly inhabited since at least A.D. 1150. 9
De Tobar found no cities of gold and since this was his mission, he soon returned to Coronado's camp at Zuni. On this trip, however, he was told by the Hopi of the Grand Canyon to the west. Coronado was curious about this great river and dispatched one of his captains, Don Garcia,
Lopez de Cardenas, and twelve men to seek the help of the Hopi in searching for this great river. Hopi guides led Cardenas and his men to the Grand Canyon. This is the first reported sighting of the Grand
Canyon by white men.
The imaginary picture at this time would show the Hopi area much as it is pictured in the land use map in Chapter 39 on page 36 with villages where the ruins are marked. There would be fewer gardens, no orchards or grazing. In place of the grazing we would see huntinr, or gathering parties of Hopi. The Hopi economy at this time was one of dry farming of maize, beans and squash. They supplemented their farming with food gathering, hunting and domesticated turkeys. These individual points will be discussed at length later.
Because of their isolation and lack of gold the Hopi were left alone by the Spaniards after Coronado's expedition for about forty years.
In 1583 rumors of rich gold mines again brought the Spaniards to Hopi
9 Harry c. James, The Hopi Indians (Caldwell, Idaho, 1956), p. 29. -16-
land. In that year Antonio de Espejo and a few soldiers spent several
days in the Hopi towns. The Spanish were able to quickly convince the
Hopi of their peaceful intentions. By this time the Hopi had learned
that the Zuni to the east had been conquered by the Spanish and that the
Spanish horses were very fierce and would devour men. Not finding gold,
Espejo and his men left without incident. According to the Dictionary
of the American Indian, by John Stoutenburght Jr., the Hopi received
their first horses at this time.10
Again the Hopi were left alone, this time for fifteen years. In
1598 Juan de Onate, the conqueror and colonizer of New Mexico, came to
Hopiland to receive the formal submission of the Hopi people to the
King of Spain. He stayed some two months and left. Onate returned in
1604 for a brief visit while he was searching for the Pacific Ocean.
Another period of peace for the Hopi followed and lasted for twenty five
years.
The Franciscans arrived in Hopiland in 1629 and stayed for about
fifty years making an effort to convert the Hopi people to Christianity.
"Three missions and two visitas were established: San Miguel Mission at Oraibi, with a visita at Walpi, San Bartolome Mission at Shogopovi11 with a visita at Mishongnovi, and San Bernardino Mission at Owatobi."
Little is known of this period from Spanish records. They were all destroyed when the missions were burned in the revolt of 1680. It is known to have been a period of marked unrest, not only among the Hopi but
10 John Stoutenburgh, Jr., Dictionary of the American Indian (New York, 1960), p. 150.
11 Harry c. James, p. 57. -17-
among all of the Pueblo people of the entire region. The Franciscans were very cruel in their treatment of the Indians, The Hopi were forced to drag heavy logs from great distances, some reports say from the rim of the Grand Canyon, to build the missions. The Mission fathers became lax and corrupt from being so far from Spain. James quotes an old Hopi priest of Oraibi as saying, "When at Walpi some Hopi children began to be born white, we pushed the padres over the cliff! 1112
A typical treatment of the Indians by these Christian zealots is reported by James on page 58 of The Hopi Indians. In 1655 Friar Salvador de Guerra caught Juan Cuna of Oraibi making a kachima doll for a child.
This was an act of idolatry for which the Friar beat the man in front of the villagers until he was bathed in blood, Then he took him inside the mission and beat him again. Finally he poured burning turpentine over the man. Of course, he died.
After this kind of treatment, it is little wonder that the whole of the Pueblo peoples revolted. In 1680 they organized under the leadership of Taos in New Mexico and drove the Spanish out. In Hopi land the missions and the visitas were all totally destroyed. The mission fathers were all killed. The character of the Hopi area as seen in the movie would now appear to change somewhat with the appearance of the missions. The
Spanish introduced the orchards and domesticated animals to the Hopi.
Small corrals for sheep and goats are now located at the base of the mesas. The gardens have grown. The dry farming is still the basis of the Hopi economy.
12 Harry c. James, p. SB. -18-
In fear of Spanish retaliation and to escape the raids from the Navajo Indians, who, having acquired horses from the Spanish, had become more warlike, the Hopi began to move their villages to the tops of the mesas from their original positions near the bases. Resentment of the Spanish was so great in Hopiland that in 1700 when the village of Owatobi allowed a priest to enter, the other villages banded together and completely destroyed Owatobi killing all of the men and most of the women.
In 1692 the Spanish reconquest of the territory was effected by
Don Diego de Vargas, however, for the Hopi it was in name only for the
Spanish made no further attempt to colonize the area. Another relatively peaceful era ensued. The Spanish power ended in 1822 and the Hopi fell under Mexican rule but this caused them no problems because the seat of government was so far away. Not until the Hopi country became a part of the United States in 1849 were the "peaceful people" bothered by the white man again.
For one reason or another, many white men came into their country after this date. Trappers, explorers, soldiers, surveyors, traders, agents, missionaries and scientists entered Hopi land. Except for the last three groups, most of these people believed that the only good Indian was a dead one. Consequently most of the encounters resulted in death for the Indians or destruction of their crops and fields. White man's diseases came to the Hopi also and many villages were ravaged by smallpox. The
Mormans tried seriously to colonize the Hopi but had little success. -19-
The first Indian agent was assigned to the Hopi in 1869. In
1870 the Protestant missionaries began coming to the Hopi country.
The combined efforts of these two groups to force the white man's way of life on the Indians served only to further alienate them.
Kidnapping was even used to force the Indian children to attend the government schools. Although the government agents were not quite as brutal in their treatment of the Hopi as the Franciscans, they were very cruel. In the early 1900 1 s the agent from Keams Canyon went to
Hotevila on Third Mesa with some government officials and some
Navajo police. They told the villagers that there was a sickness in
Arizona and that to keep from getting it, the Hopi had to take a bath in sheep dip. The men were away in the fields at this time. When the women resisted, the white men and "police" tore their clothes from them and threw them in the sheep dip. Then they sprayed the Hopi homes and their stored corn with the sheep dip. Many of the resistors were then
Jal.. ·1 e d • 13
The imaginary movie of the approximate last half century would reveal several changes in the character of the Hopi area. The villages have moved to the tops of the mesas. Instead of Hopi hunting parties, we would now see flocks of sheep and goats, some cattle and Hopi herders.
With the reduction in the wild game of the area, the Hopi have turned more to herding. They range farther from their villages now that
13 Harry c. James, p. 86. -20-
the threat of Navajo raids has ended. Our movie would show the increase in the size of the herds through the efforts of the American government and then the increased erosion and the reduction of the herds because of the overgrazing.
In 1887 the Indian Agency was established at Kearns Canyon and the
Protestant missionaries at Polacca. Before that in 1870 the government experimental farm was established in Keams Canyon and then destroyed in a summer flood. A few of the Hopi have started to farm with a horse and plow but most have not changed. Some farmers ride a burro or a horse to their fields but most still run and walk. In the past few years the white man's road has entered the Hopi area and we now see an occasional car or pickup truck but at the same time we see seventy year old men carrying water from the springs to the tops of the mesas by way of the narrow, steep paths. In August we see the tourists flock to the mesa tops by car and airplane to witness the ancient Snake Dance ceremonial still performed by the Hopi. Occasionally we see a Hopi family leave the reservation but these are few and they do not go far.
The statistics at the end of this section indicate the Hopi population through these various periods.
·The Hopi reservation was set aside by Executive order on December
16, 1882.14 It enclosed an area of 3,920 sq. mi. or 2,472,320 acres.
By 1943 this area had been compressed to a grazing unit of 624 9 064 acres
14 Swanton, p. 353. -21-
plus 7,130 acres of crop land. This represents a loss of 3/4 of the area originally set aside for the Hopi.15 Although the official boundary is still as it was in 1882 9 their old enemies, the Navajo, control
3/4 of the Hopi reservation. (See map #4 on page 4 o~) The Navajo reservation completely surrounds the Hopi reservation. Indian affairs are being handled much more intelligently than ever before, but progress is very slow though because of the fears of these people who have been mistreated so often in the past. They have asked for very little from the United States. "Their principal interest in the Americans was to obtain protection against the Navajos and Apaches. 111 6 In the eyes of the Hopi the American has just helped the Navajo take his land.
In spite of the hardships the Hopi seem to be increasing. Their population in 1680 is estimated to have been about 2,000. Today there are almost 4,000 Hopi. 17 The following table and graphs indicate that if it were not for the high death rate and infant mortality rate, the Hopi Indians would be much poorer than they are.
However, it must be said that the Hopi are poor only in comparison to the white man's standards, that is, the small houses, the lack of bathrooms, the absence of telephones and electricity, their dependence
15 Harry c. James, p. 92.
16 William T. Hagan, American Indians (Chicago, 1961), p. 95. 17 Swanton, p. 353. -22-
. . . 18 Total population of Hopi tribes
1890 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2200
1900 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2182) ) smallpox 1910 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2112)
1920 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2515) corresponds to ) increase in herds 1930; •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2842) and increase in erosion. ) 1933 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2920)
1940 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3444
1943 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3558 19 1958 • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 4000
18 Thompson and Joseph, p. 136. 19 Clara Lee Tanner,"Indians of A~izona~ Arizona Highways, p. 6. -23-
on a slow means of transportation, their low average annual income per family ($439.82, 1942) and their adherence to ancient ceremonial customs. In view of the standards of the modern
Western world, the Hopi are quite poor, but lay aside the material standards for a moment and judge the Hopi in light of their own objectives, a useful, well-poised, happy life free of worry and fear.
In this light the Hopi have evolved a way of life which is worthy of considerable admiration. -24-
Hopi 25
13.3 lu. s. Indiap Arizona I 12
10.5
Death rate, estimated rate per 1 9 000 population, 1942
Hopi 40
Iu .s. INDIAN I 25.3 IArizona I 25.9 U.S.A. 19.5
Birth rate, estimated per 1,000 population, 1942
Hopi 180
Iu.s. Indian 110
IArizona 75.3 .. lu.s.A~ 41
Infant mortality, estimated rate per 1 9 000 live births, 1942
Source: Thompson and Joseph, The Hopi Way, page 30.
.... -2~)-
Chapter II
Farminp;
HOPI FARMERS from the style of the Awatobi ~urals
Source: Harry c. James, p. 35. -26-
When the Spaniards entered the Hopi area in 1540 the Hopi lived mainly by cultivating small crops in their dry area. Over the years the Hopi had improved their farmi.ng by trial and error in their fight to subsist in this arid land. They had two main crops, maize and beans. Maize was .by far the most important. They practiced mainly flood farming by planting their crops in areas which would flood naturally. About 20% of their crops though were grown by a type of dry farming practice.I This type involved locating an area where the ground water was near enough to surface to support a crop without irrigation. The Hopi had no metal tools at all. They used only wooden, stone or sometimes bone implements. In their flood farming a man chooses for planting several plots of about one acre each. The fields were located on the flood plains and at the mouths of arroyos where they would receive water when the rains came. Several scattered fields were chosen because of the danger of their being completely washed away in the flood or of being covered up with silt. If the crops in one locality were destroyed, others might mature. Usually not more than half of the available fields were cultivated at one time. A clan system of ownership of farm land was practiced. This flexibility of boundaries accounts for the success of Hopi farming. Basically, the Hopi practice this same system today. The allotment system which the government tried to force on the Hopi in recent years brought disaster.
1 Thompson and Joseph, p. 20. -27-
Ceremonial life lies at the very heart of Hopi culture and the planting dates are based on solar observations made by a sun watcher.
Planting dates are so important that they are a part of the sacred lore.
The fields to be planted and also the seeds are selected with great care each year. Each farmer has four or five varieties of maize and each has a special purpose. Each man selects what he needs for his own purposes. Their main food comes from a broad-eared maize from which they make white flour. They have a blue maize from which they make piki (a paper-thin bread) which is one of their staple foods.
There are also die maizes with black kernels which are not eaten but are used to color their pottery. Each different type of maize may have a different planting date. The field selection is made in February and the farmer will clear the area of brush and weeds. When the sun watcher gives the signal that the planting time has arrived, the planting begins.
This may be as early as April or as late as June. The main harvest time is in September.2 The length of the growing season in Hopi land between killing frosts is climatically limited to from 130 to 140 days.
Planting is done with a sharp pointed greasewood stick. The farmer digs holes 10 to 15 inches deep and drops 10 to 20 seeds in each hole.
They dig the holes this deep to reach the moisture. The holes are left open until the seeds start to germinate, then they are filled in a little at a time. Superstition has a lot to do with their planting so many seeds; they plant one for the mice, one for the cut worms and one for
2 Thompson and Joseph, p. 17. -28-
the wind, but it is also very practical also. Growing in clumps, the maize tends to withstand the wind better. There is not enough moisture to plant in rows so the holes are scattered at about six foot intervals. About half of the seeds will bear fruit, the others
being destroyed by wind, mice and cut worms. After planting the fields
are tended regularly to keep them free of weeds while they wait for rain.
The drawing on the following page illustrates the Hopi planting practice.
The picture on page 30 ·is a typical Hopi corn field. Hopi corn grows about
30 inches high and produces 12 inch ears close to the ground. An
average yield for flood fields is 20 bushels to the acre as compared to
an average of 110 bushes per acre in Illinois. 3
The dry type of farming is practiced on the mesa tops and in
the valleys on sand dunes where the high moisture content of the
soil enables the crops to grow without surface flooding or irrigation.
This is not true dry farming in which a crop is grown in an area only
one year in every two or three years. Approximately 20% of the Hopi
farmland is of this type. In this practice each separate clump must
be protected by a windbreak to keep them from being covered up. The
windbreaks are usually constructed of brush held down by stones.
3 J. W. Hoover, "Navajo Land Problems", Economic Geography, vol. 13, #3 (July, 1937), p. 299. -29-
A HOPI FARMER AT WORK
Source~ Thompson and Joseph,p. 21. -30-
Source: National Archives, Washington, D. C. -31-
,,,,. In addition to the maize and beans the Hopi have always grown
some cotton, wheat, tobacco and squash in small quantities, In early
times the native cotton was grown much more extensively than it is
today. The Hopi are the last people to grow, spin and weave a native
cotton. 4 The maize, beans and squash were and still are sometimes
all planted in the same field,
After the harvest in September the Hopi store about 1/3 of their
crops, for use when the crops fail, as they have been doing for hundreds
of years. Every third or fourth year the crops will fail for lack
of moisture, Some years there will be no rain at all and some of the
springs will dry up. During these times they live on their stored
food and water, Just as this process has not changed since the recorded
history of the Hopi began, the Hopi farming has remained almost the
same also. Charles Morrow Wilson states in New Crops for the New World
that the corn picture in the Southwest is not greatly different today from what it ~as in 1500. 5 Carlo. Sauer said in speaking of the practice of planting maize, beans and squash together, "The Hopi, living in a land
of little and late rain, of short summers and cold nights, depend on them
and by them have maintained themselves and their fine and gentle culture,
our civilization lacking the skills to match theirs for this harsh
environment. 6
4 "Hopi", Encyclopaedia Britannica (ed. 1953), No. 11, p. 113.
5 Charles Morrow Wilson, ed., New Crops for the New World, (New York, 1945), p. 36, 6 Carl o. Sauer, Agricultural Origins and Dispersals (New York, 1952), P• 64. -32-
In some of the outlying areas of Hopi land today such as
Moencopi (see map #1) modern implements are gradually beginning to replace the ancient ones. Moencopi, sometimes called New Oraibi, was settled from Old Oraibi. There is a permanent water supply there and some of the farmers are now using plows and teams and wagons. The government is helping but, "••• the basic agricultural technology of these people has changed little since prehistoric times and dry farming is still, as it was in the past, the main Hopi industry. 117 Government attempts to improve Hopi farming with modern machinery and practices have failed. Corn planted in rows of single seeds soon burn up.
The Hopi area is too broken up for modern machinery even if the Hopi could afford it. 8
For over a thousand years the Hopi have practiced a kind of irrigation farming of small gardens. Around their springs they have built little dams or small drainways to hold back the water and cause it to sink into the ground. 9 Here the women grow beans and squash. The
Spanish improved upon this and as a result the Indians added chili, watermelons, grapes, pumpkins and onions. The Spanish also introduced
7 Thompson and Joseph, p. 20.
8 Ed Ellinger, "Hopi Harvest", Arizona Highways, vol. 33, no. 8 (August, 1957), p. 33.
9 Charles E. Kellog, The Soils that Support lls, (New York, 1941), p. 133. -33-
the Hopi to peaches, apricots, pears and apples. They became
staples in the Hopi diet and they began to cultivate orchards on the
seepage areas at the base of the mesas. In a way it may be said that
these changes were brought about by the horse since the horse brought the
Spanish or vice versa. Otherwise, the Hopi seem not to have usetl the
horse in their farming at all because they could do a better job more
economically themselves. There are no records of the Hopi having used
fertilizer or other such farming improvements.
The size and location of the Hopi fields seems not to have changed
since before the coming of the Spanish. Most sources place the average
field at about one acre in size but some are only a few square feet (see
the picture on page 30). The location of the fields in relation to the
pueblos ranges from very near to an average of five miles distant. 10 The farthest away was placed at eight miles. The limiting factor
seems to be the distance a man can literally run to and from a field and
still put in a day's work tending the crop. The Hopi have developed
great speed and endurance in running and this has led some fiction
writers to place their fields as far as twenty miles from their pueblos.
But H. c. James reports that this is pure fiction.11 Running is a thing
of pride with the Hopi and it figures strongly in their ceremonials.
10 Walter Collins O'Kana, The Hopi: Portrait of a Desert People (Norman, Oklahoma, 1953), p. 251.
11 Harry c. James, p. 111. -34-
Statistics concerning Hopi farming are scarce and seem to be conflicting. Hodge reports that in 1904 the Hopi had l,OOO acres in peach orchards and 1,500 acres in garden crops.12 The population at this time was about 2,000. Yet Thompson reports that in 1937 orchards 13 covered only 813 acres of Hopi land and gardens covered only 11 acres.
Because of the scarcity of information, map #3 on the following page is a highly generalized plan of land use in the Hopi area.
12 Frederick w. Hodge, ed., Handbook of American Indians, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #30, Part I, (Washington, 1912,) p. 565.
13 Thompson and Joseph, p. 20. -35-
Map # 3 Land Use in the Hopi Area
Scale: approximately 1.5 in. = 1 mile
••••••••••••• Hopi village
••••••••••••••ruins
••••••••••••••fields of corn, beans, squash, etc.
"I ,\It, 111 t;/, • ••••••••••••••grazing •••••••••••••• springs
•••••••••••••••••gardens
•••••••••••••••orchards -37-
~)
Herding
Feather design from wide-shouldered Hopi jar.
Source: Harry c. James, p. 21.
. -38-
Just as there were no horses before the Spanish came to the
Southwest there were also no domestic animals other than the dog.
The Hopi did have domesticated turkeys at this time though.14 After they acquired sheep and goats from the Spanish the Hopi began to herd on a small scale. The sheep and goats are the only animals which are "ideally" adopted to such harsh environment as is found in the
Hopi area, although the horses have adapted somewhat to the desert vegetation. The sheep and goats were herded by day on the grasses and desert shrubs on the plains below the 6,000 feet mesas. They were kept near the mesas and brought into sheepfolds at night in order to protect them from the wolves and the raiding Navajos. Herding was done on foot and the sheepfolds were located on ledges as near to the pueblos as they could get them.15 This practice is still being carried on today.
Decreases in the wild fauna of the area (due to the white hunters) l" .' has led to an increase in the herding of sheep, goats and cattle by the
Hopi. Much of this change has been brought about by the influences of the American government also. Although the Hopi are turning more to herding, it is somewhat against their nature. Herding imposes a degree ... of mobility on the Hopi which is out of keeping with their traditions of • staying. c 1 ose to h ome. 16
14 Clark, Wissler, p. 464.
15 Dale, p. 17.
16 Thompson and Joseph, p. 24. -39-
In 1883 the coming of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad brought a great increase in the cattle business. In 1904 Hodge reported that the Hopi had become of late more or less pastoral.
"Flocks (officially estimated in 1904 at 56,000 sheep and 15,000 goats), acquired originally from the Spaniards, supply wool and skins. They also own about 1,500 head of cattle, and 4 9 350 horses, burros, and mules.
Dogs, chickens, hogs and turkeys are their only other domesticated animals. 1117 The days of the Navajo raids were mostly over at this time and the Hopi were using many more horses in their herding.
Another kind of trouble with the Navajos began to appear at this time though. The N~vajos were growing in population much faster than the Hopi. By 1890 the Navajos had so overgrazed their land that their grass was gone and they needed more land for their increasing herds.
They began to graze on Hopi land and the United States government began to give the Navajos more land.
The reduction in grazing land for the Hopi (see map no. 4 on the following page) without a reduction in their herds led to a serious overgrazing problem. The reduction in area also increased the population per square mile to 3.04 in 1943 from 1.81 originally as compared to l. for the adjacent areas.18
17 Hodge, "Handbook of American Indians'!,p. 566. 18 Thompson and Joseph, p. 30. 112 ° 111" 110• /off• 101• ' ·"' 0
1 ~ · I I ·- ~=- 1'" - .. i I I I r~
C() -~ 17° -- ... i6f 4 -01 '·~T ~~ J .40$>9J~~-;~. J ; 1 I I 1Y t16 I • o S1tt1ttt. f-~---J Fe ' I 0 .• I _ f/&1.,~+.t;.ff ,,, J - - ,j,. .--,.- -- lbvqvt-r ve 0 }1° 'YVm$ ow ;-oZuni H 0 ~ I $(.Jll-f: o1F M11-r;5 i t 'j0 ,,,o 0 0 '1J.• J to 10? I o'6° 101• I ot,• Map # 4 The Hopi Reservation The rectangular area designated Hopi represents the reservation as established in 1882 by Executive Order. The stippled area represents the area presently under Hopi jurisdiction - 624,064 acres grazing land and 7,130 acres farm land. Source: Thompson and Joseph, The Hopi Way, page 18. -41- The overgrazing led to a serious erosion problem. In 1897 Oraibi Wash opposite the village of Oraibi was 20 feet wide by 12 feet deep. In 1937 it had eroded to 150-300 feet wide by 30 - 35 feet deep.19 This problem became so critical that in 1943 the government proposed a stock reduction plan outlined in the following table of statistics. 19 J. W. Hoover, p. 288. -42- Stock Reduction Estimates (1943) Reckoned in Sheep Units (S.U.) First Mesa Total Rangeland.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••240,567 acres Carrying capacity•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 10,193 s.u. Stock•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 12,757 s.u. Necessary reduction•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2,564 s.u. Livestock owners••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 192 Second Mesa Total rangeland.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••179 9 506 acres Carrying capacity•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6,561 s.u. Stock • ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 8,421 s.• u. Necessary reduct ion • •••••.••••••••••••••.•••••••••••• 1,860 s.u. Livestock owners • ••••••••••••••.•••.••.•...•..••.•••. 175 Third Mesa Total rangeland.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••196,781 acres Carrying capacity•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6,139 s. u. Stock•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 10,685 s.u. Necessary reduction•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 4,546 s.u. Livestock owners••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 177 Total Total rangeland.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••616,854 acres Carrying capacity•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 22,893 s.u. Stock •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 31, 863 s.u. Necessary reduction•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 8,970 s.u. Livestock owners •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 544 Source: Thompson and Joseph, p. 135. -43- For each individual owner this pr·ogram called for an average reduction in his herd of 44% on Third Mesa, ?0% on Second Mesa and 22% on First Mesa. 20 The government aided the Indians in the reduction of their stock by paying them from $1.00 to $3.00 for sheep and from $1.00 to $2.50 for goats which was more than they would have received in the open market. The events of these years tended to further alienate the Hopi Indians from the Federal Government and the white man. fir•st the white man encouraged the Hopi to increase his herds. Then the white man failed to protect the Hopi from the Navajo. Next the white man told the Hopi he had to get rid of his stock. Coupled with the events of his past, this explains why progress is so slow with the Hopi. It is clear from the pie graph on page that herding has effected one of the greatest changes in the character of the Hopi area in the past 400 years. From being absent in the Hopi economy in 1540, herding now accounts for about 34% of the Hopi income. The Hopi do not consider this a change for the better. 20 Thompson and Joseph, p. 25. -44- Eunt ins Coyote Bird design from old Hopi jar. 3ource: H. c. James, pp. 224 and 164. -45- Hunting has been in the past and re.ma.ins today a great sport with the Hopi as well as a means of getting welcome food. However, in 1540 hunting was made much more extensive than it is today. The Hopi hunting range extended over the area of their original reservation (see map #4 on page 40 } • They were very skillful hunters and trappers. They hu.nted antelope, deer, elk, mountain lion, mountain sheep, grizzly bears and wolves. The Hopi preferred to outru11 or stalk their p:r·ey and herd them into 21 pitfalls or corrals. They had the bow and undoubtedly used it on some animals such as bears and lions. Hunting for the Hopi today is restricted to the area under their control and chiefly for rabbits because of the scarcity of other game. ~till communal hunts are corJmon. Today as in the past the Hopi prefer to run their prey rather I than use horses or dogs. They kill their rabbits with a club like a boomerang or they smother them rather than use a gun. 1ihat skins the Hopi need today are obtained through trading with other Indians. 21 Hodge, "Handbook of n.meria.an Indians", P• 566. -46- The character of hunting has changed a great deal in the Hopi a11 ea in the past 400 years because of the impact of the white man. There ar·e two reasons for· this. One is the reduction of the wild game by the white hunters. 'rhe other is the restriction of the Hopi to their reservation by the white man. -47- Food Gatherins HOPI :NATIVE DRESS Source: .Driver, p. 143. -48- The Hopi have supplemented their farming since pre historic times with a wide variety of wild and semi-cultivated plants. ~ome were important staples in the Hopi diet and others were gathered only as a safety measure against starvation. There are about 200 wild species of flowering 22 plants grown in the vicinity of the Hopi villages. Names and uses for all but about a dozen are known and recorded. 'l'he following is a list of some of these supplemental plants with some of their uses: Indian millet alkali sacaton dropseed grasses - to rnake meal wild potato pinyon nuts four-wing saltbush - ashes used in piki sumac (squawbush) - red berries for lemonade tansy mustard - greens nocky Mountain beeweed sal tbushes mint bee balm amaranth family wild onions prickly-pear cactus hedgehog cactus - sweetening cholla cactus cottonwood tree berries - chewing gum .. 23 There are many that do not have ~nglish names. 22 Thompson and Joseph, p. 22 23 O'Kane, p. 6? ff. -49- The gathering of most of these was done on foot near the villages. Occasionally some gathering was done at some distance from the villages. Each year the Hopi wou1d go to the higher forests on Black Mesa to gather the pinyon pine nuts. 24 A portion of the nuts were stored for lean years just as the maize was stored. Pinyon nuts were and still are a favorite food of the Hopi, hmNever, the yield is not dependable because it fluctuates widely from year to year. Today the gathering of food in the Hopi area i.s not as extensive as it was in the past; however, it is still important. The trading posts in the Eopi area supply some of the incidental needs of the Hopi today. Gathering is still carried on, however, for the materials needed in the ceremonial dances, medicinal purposes and craft work. ~ch year the Hopi still go to the high Black .Mesa country for the pinyon nuts which are still an important source of protein in the Hopi diet. In 1943 they gathered an estimated 5,000 pounds. 25 24 Hodge, nspanish Explorers in the Southern United States,~ p. 350. 25 'I'hompson and Joseph, p. 134. -50- Chapter III Transportation - The Hopi Ford Source: Harry c. James, p. 1?5. -51- The character of transportation in the Hopi area has three stages in the course of time presented here. The first stage was walking and hand carrying or backpacking. "Prior to their acquisition of the horse, the Indians of North1America possessed only the dog as a beast of burden." Most of the Indian tribes used the dogs for transporting things by means of a pack saddle or a travois. The PUeblo Indians did not do this. They had dogs but they were apparently just pets because there are no records of them using the dog for transport or eating them as some tribes did. ",ihen the Spaniards came to this area, for the Hopi the only means of transport was their own bodies. This was quite enough to satisfy the needs of the Hopi. In 1540 the Hopi were living at the base of the mesas near their springs and contiguous to their fields. They were dependent upon natural products but most of them could be had very near their homes. occasionally they had to take longer trips, however, and these were usually at some risk from their enemies and from thirst. I;Iuch of their fuel supply came from the forests or Black l\i[esa. This involved a journey of a day or more and they could only 1 Frank Gilbert Roe, The Indian and the Horse (Norman, Oklahoma, 1955), p. 11. bring back what they could carry on their backs. On occasion they would go as far as the ;:>an Francisco Mountains, about 80 miles, for timber (see map #6 on page 60 for routes) • Their need for salt carried the Hopi the farthest fron home. Young men went on journeys to the Grand Canyon for salt and pigments and to a salt lake south of Zuni which 2 was 200 miles away. w~·hen going this far and across the desert, they would take along women carrying jars of water. They would bury the jars along the way to be used on the return trip. It is not surprising that the Hopi did not readily adopt the horse for this kind of travel. r:l:'heir very lives depended on water in this country and the horses would r·eq_uire extra water and food. Besides, the Hopi guides who took Cardenas to the Grand Canyon told them that they could cover in one day what it was taking the clpaniards two days to cover. Carrying their water was no great problem for the Hopi when their pueblos were situated near the springs. After the revolt of 1680 when they noved their villages to the defensible positions on top of the me$as, carrying water became more 2 Thompson and Joseph, P• 22. -53- of a problem. The only access to the top was a narrow, precipitous foot path purposely made difficult. They continued to carry their water in pottery jars on their backs from the springs up to the mesa tops. ~hey dug cisterns to catch rain water to increase their supply. Because walking so well satisfies the needs of the Hopi in this unique area, the practice has persisted to the present day. The majority of their traveling is done between their villages to visit with friends and relatives (see map 1J:5 on the following page for trails between the· villages). In this broken, rocky area walking is still the best way to travel. ,• -54- '• •I ' '· .. c~ lit = •0·•z .., • ...... - .Ill ,,- ~<"!..- .. z ,,,,,,,, >Lo"'.... ,...: ,. J ,- Q I $ ,, -- ... Ill 0 ,, ~ ol:: 0 i :8 ( ~,t, ..~r .r_\ amU> c , .. _...... - =.. •= --· I Source: Hationa.l _;.rohi'i'EtS, 'i~asb.ingtan, n. c. -55- The second stage in the character of transportation in the Hopi area involves the use of animals. Frincipally this stage involves the use of the horse. There has long been a controversy, which perhaps never will be settled, as to just how the Americans came by the horse. There are tales of single strays being left by the Spanish and there are tales of large numbers being left. Whatever the case, there is little doubt that the Spaniards brought the first horses to America. The acQuisition of the horse by most tribes can be traced back to the Southwest, and the complements of the ~panish expeditions are a matter of record. Coronado had 200 horsemen, 70 foot soldiers, 1,000 Mexican Indians, 1,000 head of livestock {horses, mules, cattle, sheep, goats and pigs) when he 3 reached Cibola in the summer of 1540. The upaniards were not trying to give away their horses. Quite the contrary, they would let no more of their Indian aids have horses than was absolutely necessary. Usually the Spaniards tried to make the Indians fear the horses and this was not too difficult. "Cortes, Coronado and DeSoto all speedily found their 4 horses to be objects of hatred instead of simple dread." 3 D'Arcy McNickle, They Came Here First (New York, 1949), P• 112. 4 Roe, p. 38. -56- An interesting fact that shows the influence of the Spanish is that the Indians west of the Mississippi River all mounted their horses from the right side as did the Spanish. 5 1I'his was a trait they all inherited from the Moorish Arabs and is opposite to the Anglican custom of mounting a horse from the left side.6 It seems that there are two main reasons for the Hopi not making ful'ther use of the horse; one is economics and the other is pride. In regard to economics, it did not make good sense to the Hopi to use an animal to do what he could do very well for himself. Especially when the animal required food and water and these two items were always in such short supply and great demand in Hopi land. rl'l1e United States 8.rrn.y reckoned that it cost them $30. a month to feed a horse in the Southwest. 7 The Hopi could ill afford the food and water vii thout · sac1·ificing their families. In regard to their pride, the Hopi considered their civiliza tion superior to that of the i.ivhites. 'I'hey, therefo.:ce, resisted every effort to change their vvay of life. 5 Clark 1H ssler, t•Material Cultures of the North A..~erican Indians," The American Anthropologist, Vol. 16, 1914, P• 495. 6 Roe, p. 64. 7 O'Kane, p. 16. -57- The third stage in the character of transportation in the Hopi area is the use of machines, i. e., cars and trucks. Modern transportation has only recently come to the Hopi area (see map #2 on page 14 for present day roads). Roads have been blasted to the top of the mesas but they are not improved roads and after eaoh rain, they are washed out in the washes. Pickup trucks a1·e more popular than automobiles; however, very few Hopi own either. Economics again is the reason for the slow change in the Hopi area. The Hopi are very poor and cannot afford the machines. Also, the Hopi are not very mechanically minded and are inclined to neglect such things as lubrica- tion and maintenance. The autonobile becomes more expensive than the horse under this practice. 'l'he Hopi are inclined to be understandably impractical in the use of their machines. Three Hopi men recently made a 600 mile 8 round trip to the Colorado River to catch ten turtles. Turtle shell rattles are important items in the Hopi ceremonial dances. All three methods of transportation can be seen today in the hauling of water. Many hopi are still carrying water up the steep, narrow trails on their backs. ~ome Hopi 8 O' Kane, p. 126 • -58- are using burros to pack their water and sorne haul \~a ter in 50 gallon drums in pickup trucks. because of a deep seated fea~ and not too far fetched at that, of their springs going dry, the Hopi have refused to allow the government to pump water to the mesa tops. -61- Buffalo .iJancers 1rouri sm and Hage Work Snake JJancer Source: Har· ry C. James, pp. 182 ana. 203. -62- The last few pictures in the imaginary movie would introduce a new character into the Hopi area. This character is the American tourist. The tourist began to hear of the Hopi through the work of archiologists and ethnologists who reported on the excellent pottery making and basket weaving and strange ceremonial dances of the Hopi Indians. Until the construction of the roads in the Hopi area, just a few interested people fou1ld their way to the mesa tops late in August to witness the most famous of the Hopi ceremonial dances, the .:3nake Dance. '.!.'his is a drawn-out affair which lasts several days for the Hopi, culminating in a final day of frenzied dancing with poisonous snakes and praying for rain, which strange as it may seem, more often than not ends in a downpour. It is just the last day which draws the great tourist crowds. In recent years the people have been flocking to the Hopi area by automobile, truck, horse and even airplanes have risked landing in the dry washes. 'l'hey come in all sizes, shapes and colors.from the fat tourist lady in her tight khaki slacks and the eastern dude in his bright shirt to the Navajo herder and other Pueblo Indians. The tourists corn.e away with the desire to purchase some of the hopi arts and c1·afts products but as is shown in the pie graph on the following page, the Hopi derive very . -63- Hopi Income Source - 1942 22% Agriculture 36% Wages 34 % Livestock Unearned income l %' Private business 4 % Native products 1 % Arts and cr·afts 2 % Total estimated income $279,796. in 1942. Source: Thompson and Joseph, P• 25. -64- little of their income from the sale of these items because of the lack of interest and organization among themselves. The Hopi have no organization as a whole in their arts and crafts. Individuals create as they feel the need or desire for a little extra income. Items most in demand are the kachima dolls (ceremonial dolls), baskets, pottery (the Hopi are the best potters in Arizona), and silver and turquoise. 9 The materials for their arts and crafts are all obtained locally by the Hopi except for the silver and turquoise which they obtain by trading with the Navajos and white traders. About one fifth of what the Hopi create remains at hone for use in their ceremonials. As can be seen in the diagram of Hopi trade on page 65, the remaining four-fifths in distributed mainly through the white traders. 'I'he Hopi have very little direct contact with the tourists. Although the tempo of this characteristic of the Eopi area is increasing, it will probably not figure significantly in the Hopi life for sone time because of their isolated location and dis- interest. 9 Clara Lee Tanner, P• 6. -65- NAVA HD NE\'/ Mf')(.ICO F'U f6t.o5 A l.liagram of Hopi 'l'rad.e Source: Thompson and J·oseph, P• 23. -66- Examinatio1i of the pie graph previously noted reveals that the majority of the Hopi income is derived from wages. The Hopi source of wage income is mirlly the United dtates Government. Occasionally a Hopi man will work in a nearby tovm as a carpenter or a house painter when he needs money because of a I'eduction in his flock by government restrictions or an increase in his far:i.ily, because of the death of a breadwinner. But v1hen he is able, the Hopi will return to his former way of life. It has been the government practice to use Indian labor whenever possible on the reservations and the majority of the Hopi who earn wages work for the Indian .~gency. They are employed in the schools, hospitals, and. in the construction and maintenance of buildings and grou.;:.ds. Hopi labor is used in the conservation projects, checking erosion and building roads and in freighting goods fI'Oiil the railroad to the agency. A few of the better educated are employed as teachers, nurses and clerks. In typical r:i..Opi spirit the men consider themselves as self-employed no matter for whom they may work, and one Iiopi never employs another to work for him. 'I'he liopi spirit of independent effort and reward is too deeply ingrained to allovi such a relationship to exist. lhe Eopi -67- are industrious and painstaking in whatever they do, but their love of their old way of life and their complete lack of inteTest in the competition concept of .:estern man has made them ill-suited for factory work. 'lhe 227~ of the ho pi inc one represented by agr·icul ture in the pie graph c OI:1es from the sale of Iiopi c1~ops such as corn and pinyon nuts to the traders and liavajos of the surrounding area. 'l'he trend today is to outright selling rather than the old custom of bartering. In recent years there hs.s been a demand on the tourist ma1~ket for the multi colored ears of Indian corn. The Eopi do not mind selling this type of corn because it actually represents the rejects which they have called out of their crop as not bein~; fit for consumption or replanting. 'I'he lia of unearned inc o.'Ile is in the form of government aid to the Hopi. Certain benefits are available to the aged and needy. This percentage is very low because many of the Eopi will not accept any such payment from the gover,nment. It has alv1ays been their family tradition to care for their mm and they are reluctant to change. Private business which is represented by 4~o involves very few of the :tlopi. A few individuals have recently devoted their entire time to such craft businesses as -68- carving kachima dolls and making pottery. Native products and arts and crafts both represent the sale by the individual Hopi of their pottery, baskets, blankets, jewelry, kachima dolls and moccasins. 'J.'here is no organization in the tribe in the arts and cxafts work, but there is a definite division of the labor involved. The Hopi men do the rug and blanket weaving, the jewelry making, the leather work and the carving of kachima dolls. 'I'he women make the baskets and the pottery. 'J.here is also a seasonal variation in the production of these items which ties in with the other work in the Hopi life. Pottery is made from March to ..~ugust. .baskets are made from .uecember to .::>eptember. •'oven goods are made from J anuary t o augus. t • 10 'l'he estimates in this graph involved 645 farnilies and resulted in an average income per family .· 11 of about ~439.82. 10 Thompson and Joseph, p. 24. 11 E. E. ~ale, P• 251. -69- Chapter IV Conclusion and Frospect Polik Mana from Hopi olla. ~ource: Harry G. James, title page. -70- To briefly review the imaginary movie of the historical geography of the Hopi area now, the reader will recall that in 1540 the scene opened on seven adobe villages located on and around the southern fingers of Black Mesa. At that time the Hopi people were practicing dry farming, food gathering and hunting. 'l'hey traveled very little out of their immediate area. They were a peaceful people devoting much of their time to their religious ceremonies. The Spanish enter the area and very slowly the characteristics begin to change. The Hopi began to herd small flocks and to cultivate larger gardens and new orchards. Then the Spanish were driven out and the Hopi villages moved to the tops of the mesas. Then came the Americans into the area and the inter relationships of the Hopi with his area began to change again slowly at first, then more rapidly, when the government encouraged herding and then slowly again when the government :ceduced the herds. The size of the Hopi herds increased and. new villages appeared. Then the Hopi area was reduced until in 1943 the herds ·were diminished. Now the Hopi no longer hunts his former area, nor herds over it. Attempts to change the Hopi farming failed, so that today he farms much the same as he did in 1540. -71- We have seen just the beginning of the impact of the American tourist on the nopi area, but it has made little change. In fact, the whole impact of the white man has made little change in the fiopi area. "···the Hopi live in very much the same manner as they did before Columbus 1 first set foot on this continent.n They have the same religion and philosophy. Only about 30 nopi have been converted to Christianity, which represents a failure for the missionaries. The nopi believed in so nearly the same things to begin with that they could see no reason to change. Many of the nopi justifiably hate the white man today because of the many 2 efforts to force a change on the Hopi. Perhaps the greatest changes are yet to come in the characteristics of the riopi area. In the last few scenes of the movie there appeared in the .1..1.opi area a few, fleeting glimpses of a strange character, the geologist. The Hopi area is thought to contain a great wealth in mineral resources. 1 Ea Ellenger, p. 33. 2 Glen L. Emmons, "Whither the American Indian", Rotarian, vol. 85, no. 2 (August, 1954), p. 28. -72- Newsweek magazine reported in February, 1957 that the Hopi are living in poverty on top of two billion tons of minable coal, large oil deposits and perhaps one of the 3 best uranium prospects in the United ~tates. If the Hopi Indians would say yes, today dozens of oil companies would line up to lease their land. But the Eopi will not say yes. hiost of the 11 tradi tionalists1t say emphatically "no". I'here are a few Hopi who are called 0 progre ssi ve s n in the Hopi area. There are centered mostly around New Oraibi (Kiakochomoni, map if 1) and they are ready to lease their land now. Here live most of the converts, the cattle owners and the wage workers, those ·who have experienced the most contact with white man. One of the biggest problems of the Hopi is that they do not know just ·what area they do own. They still claim the 3/4 o:C their original reservation which the Navajo now occupy. n.n6. to complicate this matter, the Navajo are still encroaching upon the hopi area. So.me of the "tradi ti onali st s" say that when they l ... 3 "The Hopi ·.,'ay", Newsweek, vol. 49 ( .ife bruary 4, 1957) ' p. 31. -73- puts it, 0 'I'he short history of the white man plainly shovvs that his policy has always been to exterminate the 4 Indian to confiscate his property.» iVhen told. that some of their people d1·ive cars and order from i;)ears, Roebuck and Company, the old chiefs say that this is regrettable, but it does not constitute a threat to the liopi life. ~elling their land does constitute such a threat. Their struggle for survival in this desert environ- ment has taught the Hopi thut their pattern of culture is the only solution to the problems of the desert which face them. 1I'hey see this new pToblem with the white man as just the same old problem in disguise. Therefore, they fight to maintain the trad.itional character of their area. So far they have been fairly successful. 'I1here have been some changes in the character of the Hopi a1... ea. 'I'he Hopi are now soraewhat depen6.ent upon herding. '.t.'hey are restricted to a much smaller area than they occupied befo.:ce the coming of the white man. 'I1he trad.ing post has replaced tm traditional source of some of their needs. The .t1opi are almost constantly in contact with the white man today. 4 nThe Hopi Wayn, Newsweek, p. ;52. -74- nyet in spite of these changes, the Hopi today stand out among the 360,000 Indians of the united ~tates proper as the tribe which probably has been least aff~cted in its basic culture by modern civilization." Thompson and J"oseph, p. 33. -75- Bibliography Bancroft, Rubert Howe. The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft. Vol. XVII. Histor~ of Arizona and Hew Mexico 1536-1888. San Francisco: 18 9. The History Company, Publishers. Bogue, Donald J. and Calvin L. Beale. Economic Areas of the United States. Nev1 York: The li'ree Press of Glencoe, Inc., 1961. Brown, Ralph H. Eistorical Geography of the United ~tates. New York: 1948. Harcourt, Bruce and vompany. Dale, Edward Everett. The Indians of the Southwest. Norman, Oklahoma: 1949. Oklahoma Press. Driver, Harold E. Indians of North .America. Chicago: 1961. The University of Chicago Press. Ellinger, Ed. 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